Railway-track bumper.



No. 634,896. Patented Oct. I7, I899.

M. L. MARDiS.

RAILWAY TRACK BUMPER.

(No Model.)

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MARTIN L. MARDIS, orsALEM, onio.

RAILWAY-TRACK BU MPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,896, dated October 17, 1899.

Application filed May 28,1898. Serial No. 682,058. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MARTIN LUTHER MAR- DIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Salem, in the county of Columbiana and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Railway-Track Bumper, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is in the nature of a railwaytrack bumper or skid, the object of the invention being to provide an improved device transportable from place to place for application to railway-rails whereby a single car or engine or a train of cars may be stopped with or without the assistance of the car-brakes.

With this object in view the invention conment, and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, and afterward particularly pointed out in the claims.

In order to enable othersskilled in the art to which myinvention mostnearly appertains to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, having reference to the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a bumper constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof with the abutmentcastings folded down between the tracks.

Like letters of reference indicate the same parts in both figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings by letters, A and 13 indicate two castings the bottoms of which are shaped to fit on the tracks A and B, standards O and D being raised at one of their ends, and their upper surfaces being shaped like the heads of rails and steadily inclined upward from the level of the track to near the standards, where they rise suddenly, as at O D, forming abutments. On the inner sides of the castings are lugs G and H, having horizontal perforations in line with each other to receive pins K K, which are journaled in lugs L L on the ends of cross-beams L L, thus pivotally connecting the castings to the crossbeams, so that they may be folded down upon the cross-beams, as shown in Fig. 2, to permit a train, car, or engine to pass over them when desired, or erected perpendicularly, as shown in Fig. 1, to stop the same, the castin gs being maintained in their erect positions by means of a bar M, pivotally engaged with an eyebolt N, secured to one casting, and provided with a hooked end M to engage an eyebolt N, secured to the other casting. The eyebolts N N are secured to the castings A and B, respectively, by means of nuts N on the inside and outside of the castings, thus providing means for adjusting the distance of the top of the standards 0 and D apart when erect.

The bumper thus constructed may be placed at any point on the trackas, for instance, at the end of a temporary switch or siding or at any point where it may be desired to stop a car, train, or engine-and a car coming toward it will pass up the inclined ends upon the castings and against the standards, where it will generally be stopped. Should its inertia be too great, however, the bumper will slide on the track and form a brake which will quickly stop the rolling-stock.

By means ofthe pivotal connections between the castings they may be folded down upon the cross-beams, as before stated, thus facilitating the transportation ofthe device and economizing in storage-room.

While I have illustrated and described the best means now known to me for carrying out my invention, I do not wish to be understood as restricting myself to the exact details of construction shown, but hold that any slight variation therefrom such as might suggest itself to the ordinary mechanic would clearly be comprehended in the limit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A railway-track bumperor skid compris ing two castings having their lower edges constructed to fit upon the heads of the rails, provided with downward-projecting lips to en-' gage the insides of the rails and having its upper inclined edges substantially of the form of rail-heads and terminating at one end on the track and the other at abutments, in combination with cross-beams, pivotally connected at their opposite ends to the castings whereby said castings may be folded down on the cross-beams, eyebolts adjustably connected to each of the castings, and a connecting-bar pivotally connected at one end to one of the oyebolts, and provided with a hook at its opposite end to engage the other eyebolt, substantially as described.

2. The combination in a railway-track bumper, of said castings adapted to fit on the rails and having their upper edges inclined forming abutments, crossbea1ns pivotally connected to the castings whereby they may be folded down upon the cross-beams,

and adjustable connecting means for retain- [0 ing the castings in their upright positions on the track, substantially as described.

MARTIN L. MARDIS. \Vitnesses:

JOSEPH S. HUGHES, FRANK BROWN. 

